Shonda Rhimes' New Drama Scandal Premieres To OK Ratings

Last night, ABC premiered Shonda Rhimes’ promising new drama series Scandal . While the debut of the Washington, DC set drama could certainly have done better, it got off to an ok start in the ratings, though it came in among the lower rated new ABC series this season.

Created by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy), Scandal stars Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, an attorney who runs a firm of fellow attorneys and other resourceful people who fix high-profile problems for their wealthy clientele. According to Entertainment Weekly, the series debuted to an audience of 7.4 million viewers, earning itself a 2.1 rating among adults 18-49. That’s unfortunately a 25% drop from its Grey’s Anatomy lead-in.

According to TV Line‘s numbers that rating falls closer to the low-rated Charlie’s Angels, which also earned a 2.1 for its premiere. Looking at it that way, and factoring in Charlie's Angels inevitable cancellation, this isn’t the best news for Scandal, but if I were comparing the series to Charlie’s Angels, while I couldn’t honestly say that I hoped Charlie’s Angels would stick around, Scandal has real potential. Hopefully more people will give it a shot and tune in for the next new episode...